A Reverend's Guilt
by MarK SIlv
Summary: A eventful event at church reawakens Hale's guilt for his actions in the events that happened in Salem. Set after the the end of the book Reverend Hale seeks comfort from his wife.


**I made this as a part of an English assignment and though it would be a nice ideas to share my work with others. Please feel free to review and critique if you want to, this story is definitely not perfect and writing assignments have always been a pain in the ass for me so don't hope for a literary masterpiece. Apart fro that enjoy my not so brilliant work  
**

A Reverend's Guilt

Walking across the streets of Beverly on fine Saturday afternoon is the figure of pious and broken man. Six months have passed since the misery in Salem came to an end but for a reverend John Hale the nightmare has not yet completely ended. Still shaken by the events the once proud man now feels contempt nor for Mr. Putnam or even Mr. Danforth but for himself. Finally reaching his destination the reverend knocks on the door of the only place more holy to him than that of his church, his home.

"Hello, Sarah it's me Hale could you please open the door" Said Hale in rushed and sullen manner

"My oh so holy husband, what brings you here so early" Replied Sarah in slight playful but concerned tone

"I wasn't feeling well and Goody Soules suggested I take some much needed rest" Said Hale as he practically rushed into the house almost forgetting to close the door as he moved into his study room when his wife grabbed him by the arm and asked him to tell her the truth

"I couldn't stand to stay on the church any longer my dirty soul was starting to feel the pressure of being on the Lord's house" Exclaimed Hale in the way only a person eaten by guilt could show

"That's not the whole truth and you know it, now what could cause such a holy man as you to act like an dishonest child" Said Sarah

Hale sighed knowing there is no way he could bring himself to withhold anything from the great Sarah Noyes Hale.

"It was a paper nailed to the doors that that Mr. Doggett put after kicking open the doors of the church and then retreating as he cursed my name …" Said Hale before being interrupted by Sarah

"What!? Mr. Doggett just makes a disturbance on God's house and you flee as if you were the one who committed a sin, the nerve of that man, what even was on that bloody letter" Said Sarah in a slightly irate manner

"Calm down my love, he was only acting in response to my cursed actions on Salem, on that paper were the names of all the people that died because of me" Cried Mr. Hale

"Oh my poor husband is the guilt for the events in Salem still lingering on your mind, I thought you had already forgiven yourself for your mistakes" Sarah replied as she wrapped an arm around her husband and started to comfort him

"How can I forgive myself while knowing that my actions led to the deaths of innocents, God's light must not be present in me anymore" Exclaimed Hale

"John, are you a fool or man of learning and faith, there is no man or woman on this world with a stronger belief in the Lord's will and of the goodness in humans than you, what happened on Salem was most certainly a tragedy and you made a mistake but you can't be so hard on yourself. Your willingness to fight the Devil and ensure salvation blinded you from the lies of the girls and the corruption of the court but your intentions were always on behalf of the forces of good and the well being of the community. I do not believe for a second that you should feel accountable for everything that happened, if anybody's the blame should be on Abigail and Mr. Danforth " Sarah replied in the most empathetic tone she could muster

"Oh Sarah I was the one who believed the scams of a group of girls and let to the situation getting out of control if only had realized the truth sooner then John and the others wouldn't had died" Hale exclaimed in a desperate tone

"You never intended for that to happen and once you learned the truth you tried your hardest to fight against the evils of the court, what Mr. Proctor and the others was a brave act thanks to their refusal to admit witchery the court lost significant credibility and helped to bring about and end to this nightmare" Sarah replied in a soothing tone

"That's exactly why I admire them and cherish their memories, the fact that I tried to simply save them and gave up on my fight against the court still weighs on me, I don't know how to continue after such actions" Hale complained

"Listen I can't tell you that you did not act in foolish manner, but you have done nothing but helped others since you came back doing twice the work you did before, nobody can deny that you are a man of good and whoever tries to tell you otherwise is nothing but a foolish fool" Sarah responded

" 'Foolish fool' huh, you've always been fond of calling others fools as your preferred mode of insult it is certainly a peculiar trait of yours, one that I find incredibly endearing " Hale replied in a more upbeat demeanor

The comment caused a noticeable blush to appear on Sarah's gentle features, her still not being completely used to her husband's compliments something which was rare due to his previous obsession with studying the holy scriptures and trying to hard to be Reverend Hale the holy servant of God and not John hale the man.

"Well I'm glad that my tastes in word choice have lifted your spirits but it still remains to be seen if you have completely forgiven yourself" Replied Sarah after a moment of hesitation in a concerned manner

"I just can't get mind over the fact that I failed to be of any help in Salem, the only good thing I did was quit the court and even then that barely had any positive effect" replied Hale as his mood sank once again , just as his wife was about to retort a knock on the door was heard

"Who could that be" Asked Sarah

"I don't really know but I can't' help but feel that may be another person who holds me accountable for all off the destruction that occurred" Hale exclaimed

"Don't have such a negative attitude, I'll see who it is" said Sarah as she rushed and opened the door only to find a pie with a letter on it and not one soul to be seen

"Well who is it?" Asked Hale

"There is no person here but a pie with letter on top of it" Answered Sarah

"What?" Exclaimed Hale as he came into the door frame and looked at the pie

"Seeing as you are here I'll proceed to read what's on the letter 'Dear Mr. Hale following Mr. Doggett's deplorable actions we witnessed a noticeable change in your demeanor and then proceeded to excuse yourself an hour later after dealing with all your issues for the day, we can't help but feel concern for your gentle soul and so decide to bring this gift to you in hopes of lifting your spirits, the pie will be deliver by little Timmy, he is shy but incessant source of energy so don't expect him to be around when you open the door. We have never seen a man as a dedicated as you to spread the Lord's word and whenever you peak I can hear Jesus Christ himself behind you, do not listen to any of the complains of your character, you are a great man and one mistake does not change that, always remember that. With care, the Belton's', ah well John what do you..." Sarah exclaimed before gasping at the sight of her husband in tears

Having listened to such beautiful words the darkness clouding Hale's mind starts to disappear as a sense of relief washes over him

"Sarah just so you know these are tears of happiness not of sadness" Exclaimed the reinvigorated Hale in a lighthearted manner

"You tactless man is that all you have to say after such a display of emotion" Replied Sarah while she tried to act as she were annoyed

"Sorry, couldn't help myself thought you would appreciate if a tried not to act like a loathed myself anymore" Said the now more confident Mr. Hale

"Well seems like the Lord has answered my prayers and given me back a husband that does not mope around like a sad child" exclaimed the now reviewed Sarah

"Hey don't be so rude I simply acted in more reserved manner you know" Complained Mr. Hale to his wife

"Aw how I missed this, I hope from now on no complaining and grieving will take place in your heart" Said Sarah

"As much as I would like to agree to that a man's heart can't completely heal in a single day, even if I've decide to forgive myself the journey to redemption is not an easy one" Replied Mr. Hale to his wife

"In that case I hope you let me accompany you on that journey, seeing as I doubt you can take on such endeavor without my help" Said Sarah

"Oh, that will most certainly be the case my dear Sarah, I wouldn't dare to tackle such an obstacle without the company of such a capable woman as yourself" Replied Mr. Hale in between laughter

"Well at least you seem to take somewhat seriously, now before you came in I was in the middle of preparing lunch and seeing as I had to cut the lumber I'm feeling pretty hungry right about now" Exclaimed Sarah in her regular playful manner

"Oh, sorry to bother you in such a way, I guess we better come back inside the house don't you think " Said Mr. Hale

"But of course my oh so holy spouse, now get the pie and move your blessed existence into our house" Exclaimed Sarah

"Sure in a moment, first I'll admire the the sky for a moment before joining you inside" Replied Mr. Hale

" Well all right, just don't take too much time, and don't forget that we still have much to talk about" Said Sarah as she started to leave

"Don't worry I'll kept everything in mind" Replied Mr. Hale

Mr. Hale remained by the door frame as his wife retreated into the house, he bent down and picked up the pie admiring the gift from the Belton's. As he looks up and stares into the sky a resolve is made.

"Sarah is right I can't let the demons of my past dragged me down any longer. Even if I will never be able to undone my past mistakes I must live on and carry that blame with me and use this ordeal to strengthen my resolve as a minister to serve the Lord and to serve the people. I reverend John Hale promise to do good and to use my newfound knowledge and experience in my journey to become a true recipient of the Lord's light, God please forgive for my sins as I have done to myself, and John Proctor I promise not to let irrationality and hate to ever take hold of the good people in my care. From now on I will walk only on the straight path." Exclaimed Mr. Hale

Reverend Hale then proceeds to retire into his home ready to spent some much needed quality time with his wife, the new spirit residing inside of him driving him to be not only a better minister, and a better man, but a better husband also.


End file.
